All the Pickup Truck News: Rivian Spins Into the New Year and Which Brand Will Finish Behind Ford?
Remember Rivian? The electric truck and SUV brand first showed off its R1T pickup and R1S SUV at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, with both vehicles using the same all-electric “skateboard” platform and four-motor (one in each wheel) setup. Ford has invested a reported $500 million in the company, and we hope to see production versions of both vehicles sometime this year.
Related: More Pickup Trucks News
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With Tesla and its Cybertruck stealing most of the electric pickup truck news of late, Rivian made a splash recently with a video of its R1T doing a “tank turn.” Using the individual wheel motors to spin the driver-side wheels in one direction and the passenger-side wheels in the opposite, the R1T spins in a circle to create some of the most compact doughnuts you’ll ever see. Check it out:
The individual wheel-motor setup should allow for much more precise off-road maneuvering, but the tank turn is definitely an off-road-only trick.
Sales Race
With 2019 officially over, we’re also close to getting final sales data for pickup trucks and finding out which brand came in … second. Ford, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and GM all release sales data quarterly now, and Ford had such a large lead after the third quarter, it’s unlikely either Ram or Chevrolet will be able to surpass the Blue Oval.
Through three quarters of the year, Ford sold 662,574 F-Series pickups. Ram was in a distant second at 461,115 trucks sold, and Chevrolet was in third with 412,259. In addition to the slim chances of Ram or Chevy catching Ford, it’s also doubtful that the Chevrolet Silverado will be able to pass Ram.
Chevrolet’s only source of bragging rights will be if it includes the mid-size Colorado in its pickup truck sales figures, because the 96,820 Colorados sold at last report brings its total ahead of Ram. Of course, that 506,136 total pales in comparison to just the F-Series total; Ford also reported 56,512 Ranger mid-size trucks sold, bringing its total pickup truck sales to 719,086. (Even if GM combined sales of the Chevrolet Silverado and Colorado with the GMC Sierra and Canyon, it would still be behind Ford as of the last report.)
Ford will likely hold onto its lead and claim the 2019 sales title, but it will be interesting to see if Chevrolet can overcome a sluggish start to sales of its redesigned Silverado and any strike-related woes or if Ram will hold on to second.
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